


Spicy Chai

by i_am_girlfriday



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: College, Domestic Fluff, Housemates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-25 13:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1650668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_am_girlfriday/pseuds/i_am_girlfriday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek has a crappy day at work in the glamorous world of university administration. Stiles takes care of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spicy Chai

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my [tumblr](http://moonwasours.tumblr.com/).

Sometime after things quiet down in Beacon Hills, Derek gets a job at the nearby university in the glamorous world of administration and advising. The pack’s off at various schools and he’s got nothing but time on his hands now. It turns out he’s good at working with students one on one. He enjoys the atmosphere of his department, and the overall collegiality among the faculty. The only thorn in his side is a particular graduate student who tries to undermine him at every turn. (God, he misses when Stiles was the bane of his existence. He was a little shit, but he mostly meant well.)

Derek thinks he’s a fair advisor. He does his best to apply policy evenly, and he never takes sides. The reputation he has among the pack for being grumpy doesn’t have any bearing at work. Derek’s got the reputation for being the best advisor on campus. He has students lining up for advising, and they’re generous with their praise. (And no, it has nothing to do with how tight he wears his pants. Shut up, Erica.) When his students graduate they email to keep in touch and tell him how he made a difference in their lives. It’s nice, steady, and Derek feels like a real adult for once.

But for whatever reason, there’s still this grad student that has it out for Derek. She’s made it her mission to get under his skin. Too bad for her, because his skin is pretty fucking thick. As long as the woman doesn’t turn out to be a serial killer or a pyromaniac, everything is all good. Her campaign to bother Derek starts out small. She copies all of her email messages with Derek to the chair of the department. He can’t tell if she’s just trying to be annoying or if she’s up to something more sinister. She writes snide emails about how long it takes for Derek to write back in January. (He blames Cora. It was her idea to take the two weeks off while his students were on break. He never would have gotten so behind otherwise.) She greets everyone in the office and excludes Derek. It’s awkward and other people notice their frosty interactions.

Usually, Derek just rolls his eyes and does his best not to let it get to him. Sometimes though, she can be particularly irritating. It’s a Thursday in Spring semester and Derek’s week has been absolute hell. There have been back to back meetings, a steady stream of undergrads and grad students who need various things, and his list is a mile long of all the things he has to finish. When he’s just about done for the day he notices an email in his inbox. He scans the message and fires off a perfunctory reply to the committee, of which the student is (unfortunately) a member. Not ten minutes later the grad student has responded with her two cents on the matter. Even in her email reply her tone is shrill, and she contradicts literally everything Derek just wrote.

Derek has to fight the wolf from roaring to the surface. His patience is worn incredibly thin, so he calls it a day and leaves the email for the morning. Derek drives home ten miles over the speed limit and fumes. When he barrels into the house he trips over Isaac’s scarf he haphazardly draped over the coatrack by the door. He curses Isaac and his stupid knitwear, but he catches himself before he faceplants. Derek washes his hands at the kitchen sink and mutters about Boyd always leaving the good knives in the drying rack. How many times does he have to ask him to dry them after washing? Derek decides to make spaghetti because it’s quick and easy and the ground turkey should be defrosted -- only the ground turkey is right where he left it this morning, in the goddamn freezer. FML, he thinks.

Derek stomps around the house in a total state and hopes everyone stays out because he’s going to snap at the first person who bothers him. (He still owes Kira and Scott for the last time he got in one of his moods and bit their heads off.) Derek throws on some workout clothes and goes for a run to clear his head. He pushes himself hard, and doesn’t let up until he’s bone tired.   
When Derek gets home, the porch light is on so he knows Stiles must be back from school. He’s their only human housemate, and his night vision sucks. Derek rolls his shoulders a few times and tries to let the rest of his anger dissipate. He opens the door and finds Stiles sitting on the couch doing his reading.

“Hey,” he says while he marks his place in the book.

Derek runs his hand through his sweaty hair. “Hi.” He keeps his response short knowing it’s best not to try for a real conversation until he’s eaten.

“Heard that maybe you had a shitty day,” Stiles says with a raised eyebrow.

“How’d you hear that?”

“Dad called and said he clocked you doing 35 miles an hour in a school zone.” Stiles mocks a   
scandalized voice. “I knew something had to be up if you’re disregarding traffic laws.”

“It was just a shitty day.”

“Sorry, man. Supernatural?” Stiles sits forward, his body ready to react to a threat.

“Nah, just work.” Derek can actually feel his his spirits lifting. It’s a fucking luxury that the worst thing that happens to him these days is dealing with bitchy emails.

“Go shower.” Stiles signals with his thumb toward the hallway.

Derek just nods and makes his way to his bathroom. He showers quickly. He’s too hungry to enjoy it or take his time under the water and lazily jerk off. When he gets clean clothes on and makes his way to the kitchen, he finds Stiles cooking. Derek’s favorite mug is sitting in the middle of the counter and he can see steam rising from the top. He smiles.

“Spicy chai, just the way you like it,” Stiles says as he browns the meat.

“You’re cooking,” Derek says lamely.  
“Well, the best medicine after a crappy day is someone taking care of you.” Stiles bobs his head and kind of beams at Derek.

Derek feels warm all over and he hasn’t even taken a sip of his chai. He leans over it and inhales. It smells amazing. He drinks it tentatively, expecting to scald his tongue like he usually does. The chai is the perfect temperature, and it tastes even better than when he makes it for himself. He lets out a little moan. When he looks up he catches Stiles watching him.

“It’s good. Perfect, actually,” Derek says sincerely.

Stiles ducks his head sheepishly and turns back toward the stove.

“You really don’t have to cook for me, Stiles. You must have a ton of homework.”

“But I want to. You always take care of us.” Stiles sets the timer for the pasta and stirs the sauce.

“You’d all eat nothing but frozen pizza if I let you.”

“Probably. But I can manage spaghetti.”

“I can help.” Derek stands to set the table.

Stiles swats playfully at Derek’s ass with a dish towel. “Sit your butt down. I got this.”

Derek laughs. “God, you’re bossy.” He grins fondly.

“You love it,” Stiles crows.

Instead of sitting down, Derek crosses the space until he’s crowding Stiles up against the back of the kitchen counter. “Yeah…I kinda do.” He leans in and kisses Stiles. It’s slow, sweet, and spicy like chai.

Stiles kisses back tenderly, like he knows that Derek’s only just come to the most obvious conclusion. They’re good together as friends, and they’ll be even better as more than friends, because even after a bad day, only Stiles can get Derek to smile.


End file.
